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The captivating story of Sarnia's Big Tom

'Big Tom' was relocated to Veterans Park in Nov. 2015. It had previously been sitting in Canatara Park since 1960, moved away from its original location in Veterans (then Victoria) Park where it first appeared in 1869.
CARL HNATYSHYN/SARNIA THIS WEEK

It was built in Rotherham, England during the late 17th/early 18th century, it patrolled the Great Lakes aboard a gunboat named Prince Alfred, protecting Canada from the Fenian Brotherhood during the 1860s and it was witness to countless military, religious and social ceremonies that have taken place in Sarnia since 1869, from the time of the Boer War right on through to last year's Remembrance Day ceremonies.

Sarnia's 'Big Tom' cannon has a storied and fascinating history, and is likely one of the oldest historical objects in the city, according to local historians Lou Giancarlo and Tom Slater.

Giancarlo and Slater, two members of the Relocation of 'Big Tom' Committee that successfully got the cast-iron cannon moved from Canatara Park to Veterans Park in 2015, spoke about the engaging history and incredible journey of Sarnia's long-time military landmark during a meeting of the Lambton County Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society on Oct. 11.

The pair admitted that they had never really thought much or knew much about 'Big Tom' up until just a couple of years ago.

“About two years ago we were talking at lunch about the cannon and I asked 'why is it in Canatara Park'?,” Giancarlo told the audience. “I went to the washroom, came back and found out I was the chairman of the committee to move it back to Veterans Park.”

“I knew next to nothing about it,” said Slater. “I came to Sarnia in the early eighties so I only knew the cannon in Canatara. But once we did the research and found out that it used to be in Veterans Park and the more I learned about the history and the huge connection to the community – the cannon had been there for so many huge events for so many years, through the Boer War, World War One and World War Two – I just knew it needed to be back there.”

With nothing but a vague plan, some library cards and a connection to the internet, the committee set about to research the history of 'Big Tom', both its time in Lambton County as well as its roots in England. An invaluable source of help came in the form of renowned military historian Harold A. Skaarup, who helped point the group in the right direction, Slater said.

“He was just amazing,” he said. “Our first job was to get enough accurate information about the cannon as we could...and (Skaarup) was just an excellent resource to tap into.”

'Big Tom's' story began around two centuries ago, Slater said, when it was manufactured by Rotherham-based English artillery maker Walker and Company, during the reign of King George III. Walker and Company was a massive operation, having a labour force of around 1,000 men, and the company made tens of thousands of cannons each year for the British Empire, who were involved in numerous conflicts at the time, including the Seven Years War, the Battle of Trafalgar and the American Revolutionary War.

The royal marking, or cypher, on 'Big Tom' confirmed that the cannon was built during the reign of King George, which lasted from 1760 to 1820, Giancarlo said. Further research indicated that the cannon was designed by Thomas Blomefield, England's Inspector of Artillery and Superintendent of the Royal Brass Foundry, whose designs started being produced in 1787.

“We now know that 'Big Tom' was manufactured between 1787 and 1820,” Giancarlo said. “And it's very likely one of the oldest things in Sarnia.”

In technical terms, 'Big Tom' was known as a Blomefield SBML 32-pounder (shell size) 56-cwt (imperial weight which equates to 3 tons) cannon, Slater told the audience. The cast-iron chase guns were often referred to as 'Long Toms', named after Queen Elizabeth I's Royal Gun-founder Thomas Johnson. The cannons were used both on land and at sea – famously in the Crimean War of 1853 to 1856, where 'Big Tom' was rumoured to have been used, though there is no proof of that, Slater said – and needed a crew of anywhere from four to twelve men to operate.

“It was fascinating to find out how it was fired and how many people it took to fire it,” he said. “When you have a three-ton cannon, each of these men had a specific role to load it, to maneuver it and to operate it.”

In the 1860s, when there was trouble in Great Britain's colonies coming from insurgent Irish nationalists, the British Empire began deploying a number of 'Long Toms' to Canada, Giancarlo said.

“In the mid 1860s, Irish nationalists sought independence from England. This led to conflict in some areas in the colonies,” he told the audience. “In Canada there was a real threat of Fenians coming into Canada from the United States.”

“The British were preparing for an invasion. Militias were formed, money was raised for the defense of the colony and cannons were deployed to Canada for defensive purposes,” Giancarlo continued. “'Big Tom' was deployed to Point Edward to defend the colony here. Then it was placed on a retrofitted ferry-turned-gunboat, the Prince Alfred in 1866, to patrol the waters nearby.”

As the Fenian threat subsided, the cannon was eventually moved off the ship and transported to the military reserve base in Point Edward, Slater said, where according to articles in the Observer, it sat and gathered moss, covered in sand and underbrush until the town of Sarnia bought the cannon – then still known as 'Long Tom' - in 1869.

The town subsequently placed the cannon in what was then known as Market Square (later renamed to Victoria Park, now Veterans Park), using it as a potent and solemn symbol of military sacrifice, Slater said, where it sat until 1959.

The cannon quickly became a focal point of the heart of Sarnia, and was present during numerous ceremonies and milestones during the city's history, including the construction of the Carnegie Library in 1903, the 1914 ceremony when Sarnia officially became a city, attended by Governor General Arthur the Duke of Connaught, and the city's first Armistice Day in 1919. It was a gathering point and a monument that everyone recognized, Slater said.

Yet in spite of its revered place in Sarnia, 'Big Tom' nearly became fodder during the Second World War, when the federal government was scrounging for any and all scrap metal from across the country. Such was 'Long Tom's' status among townsfolk that local citizens banded together to keep the monument where it was, Slater said.

It was during that period that 'Long Tom' underwent an accidental name change and began being known by the moniker of 'Big Tom', Giancarlo said.

“It was 'Long Tom' for the longest time, and then from what we could gather, in 1942 someone – likely from the Observer – started calling it 'Big Tom',” he said, smiling. “And so it turned out it was a newspaper reporter who renamed it Big Tom, probably inadvertently.”

In 1959 or 1960 though, 'Big Tom' was moved from its 90-year home to Canatara Park, due to the construction of a new public library on Christina St. The cannon remained in Canatara Park for over 50 years. Neither Giancarlo nor Slater found out exactly why 'Big Tom' was kept in its 'temporary home' for five-plus decades.

“We don't know that answer,” Slater said. “Even in the newspapers back in 1959-1960, there was nothing in them about the move, it was just moved. You'd think there would be some kind of write-up, but there was absolutely nothing while the new library was built. So it remained in Canatara Park 'temporarily' for over 50 years.”

With the efforts of the Relocation of 'Big Tom' Committee which included Slater, Giancarlo, Tom St. Amand, Mike Banovsky and Randy Evans, as well as numerous volunteers from the community such as Mike Atkinson, 'Big Tom' finally returned to its rightful home in Veterans Park in early November 2015.

Both speakers said that they felt a great deal of pride in returning 'Big Tom' to its original site.

“After we found out the history of Big Tom and the history of Market Square, then Victoria Park and now Veterans Park, we were very much encouraged to move it back to the park because of its historical significance,” Giancarlo said.

“And the big thing too for us is that the cannon is a military artifact,” Slater added. “It's a symbol of the price paid by people that went to war and fought battles. It was a military tool to defend Sarnia. It's a symbol and it just belongs in Veterans Park.”

“The cannon served as a window into the past...it was here because of an impending conflict and it helped defend our country. And having it in the park was huge,” Giancarlo continued. “(Veterans Park) was the focal point in the community, it was the meeting ground for social, religious and military events from 1869 on. So it's of huge significance to Sarnia and we hope people appreciate 'Big Tom' and the park more, for its beauty and its historical significance.”